Google's new Magnifier app is available for download on the Pixel 5 and later!
The Magnifier app uses your camera "to magnify small text, see object details, or zoom in on faraway text like street signs or restaurant menus behind a service counter."
You can change the image contrast and brightness, zoom in even further, use filters, control the flashlight intensity, and search, listen, or copy text with Google Lens.
Thanks to _better_be_me on Threads for the tip!
Download Magnifier from Google Play
The Magnifier app uses your camera "to magnify small text, see object details, or zoom in on faraway text like street signs or restaurant menus behind a service counter."
You can change the image contrast and brightness, zoom in even further, use filters, control the flashlight intensity, and search, listen, or copy text with Google Lens.
Thanks to _better_be_me on Threads for the tip!
Download Magnifier from Google Play
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
Since I'm not gonna have my own Pixel 8 for a while, I might as well put this out there so someone else can test it ASAP: You might be able to enable DisplayPort Alternate Mode (ie. display output over USB-C) if you root the device. That's because it seems…
I have some bad news to share: This method didn't work.
A brave person with a Pixel 8 Pro (who wants to stay anonymous) reached out to me, and we were able to easily root the device.
We overrode the property and verified the sysfs files were changed, too, but sadly there was still no display output.
This person used a USB-C to HDMI adapter and cables that they verified worked with another device (a Samsung), so it's not a cable problem.
I'm not fully ruling out display output support, but it's not looking good. Once Google releases the Pixel 8's kernel/device tree sources next week, we should hopefully find more clues.
A brave person with a Pixel 8 Pro (who wants to stay anonymous) reached out to me, and we were able to easily root the device.
We overrode the property and verified the sysfs files were changed, too, but sadly there was still no display output.
This person used a USB-C to HDMI adapter and cables that they verified worked with another device (a Samsung), so it's not a cable problem.
I'm not fully ruling out display output support, but it's not looking good. Once Google releases the Pixel 8's kernel/device tree sources next week, we should hopefully find more clues.
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How long has the Android Auto notification had a "disconnect" button?
I don't recall seeing this before but I may be mistaken. I'm using wireless AA if that matters.
Pretty excited by this button because if you have a family car and multiple people use wireless AA, it can be annoying to change which device to use AA on.
I don't recall seeing this before but I may be mistaken. I'm using wireless AA if that matters.
Pretty excited by this button because if you have a family car and multiple people use wireless AA, it can be annoying to change which device to use AA on.
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Seems like the Pixel 8 is using Google's new Fast Pair-powered setup experience!
Fast Pair speeds up the initial discovery of devices in the setup process. The device being setup broadcasts its status via Fast Pair, and any Fast Pair-supporting Android phones nearby will get a half-sheet popup that opens a QR code scanner.
This new setup experience debuted on the Galaxy S23 series earlier this year, so I was wondering when it would show up on Pixel.
Credits: tech_that_out on Twitter
Fast Pair speeds up the initial discovery of devices in the setup process. The device being setup broadcasts its status via Fast Pair, and any Fast Pair-supporting Android phones nearby will get a half-sheet popup that opens a QR code scanner.
This new setup experience debuted on the Galaxy S23 series earlier this year, so I was wondering when it would show up on Pixel.
Credits: tech_that_out on Twitter
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Google Camera's new "Pro" controls also work on a Pixel 6 Pro!
(Requires modifying the Google Camera 9.1 APK from the Pixel 8, though!)
More details on this feature courtesy of Kamila Wojciechowska over on Twitter.
Edit: Installing this modded version requires rooting your Pixel (because the package name wasn't changed, which isn't a trivial modification to make when it comes to GCam).
Kamila currently doesn't intend to release this, but I'm sure regular GCam modders will get this out soon.
(Requires modifying the Google Camera 9.1 APK from the Pixel 8, though!)
More details on this feature courtesy of Kamila Wojciechowska over on Twitter.
Edit: Installing this modded version requires rooting your Pixel (because the package name wasn't changed, which isn't a trivial modification to make when it comes to GCam).
Kamila currently doesn't intend to release this, but I'm sure regular GCam modders will get this out soon.
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Face Unlock on the Pixel 8 is low-key one of the phone's BIGGEST upgrades and is a huge milestone for biometric authentication.
My latest article for Android Central dives into why this change is such a big deal.
My latest article for Android Central dives into why this change is such a big deal.
Android Central
Why the Pixel 8's Face Unlock upgrade is a big deal
Face unlock on the Pixel 8 doesn’t compromise on security.
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How to check the Biometric Class of your phone's fingerprint or face unlock sensor
One of the biggest improvements in the Pixel 8 series versus the Pixel 7 series is the upgraded face unlock: It now works with banking apps and Google Pay!
This is because face unlock on the Pixel 8 is a Class 3 biometric, which means it can integrate with the BiometricPrompt API and Android Keystore system.
This is the first Android device (AFAIK) that offers Class 3 face unlock using just the front-facing camera. So how do you actually check the security classification of your phone's face unlock?
It's easy! All you need is to set up ADB and then run a single command:
Android will output all recognized biometric sensors on the device, their strength, and modality.
Modality of 2 refers to a fingerprint scanner, while modality of 8 refers to a face scanner. Strength of 15 is Class 3, strength of 255 is Class 2, and strength of 4095 is Class 1. (The biometric strengths are defined here while the modalities are defined here.)
For example, attached to this post is the output from a Pixel 7 Pro versus a Pixel 8 Pro. The Pixel 7 Pro has an optical under-display fingerprint scanner that's a Class 3 biometric as well as a face unlock scanner that's a Class 1 biometric. The Pixel 8 series also has an optical under-display fingerprint scanner that's a Class 3 biometric but it also has a Class 3 face unlock.
(Thanks to anon for checking this on their Pixel 8 Pro!)
One of the biggest improvements in the Pixel 8 series versus the Pixel 7 series is the upgraded face unlock: It now works with banking apps and Google Pay!
This is because face unlock on the Pixel 8 is a Class 3 biometric, which means it can integrate with the BiometricPrompt API and Android Keystore system.
This is the first Android device (AFAIK) that offers Class 3 face unlock using just the front-facing camera. So how do you actually check the security classification of your phone's face unlock?
It's easy! All you need is to set up ADB and then run a single command:
adb shell dumpsys biometric Android will output all recognized biometric sensors on the device, their strength, and modality.
Modality of 2 refers to a fingerprint scanner, while modality of 8 refers to a face scanner. Strength of 15 is Class 3, strength of 255 is Class 2, and strength of 4095 is Class 1. (The biometric strengths are defined here while the modalities are defined here.)
For example, attached to this post is the output from a Pixel 7 Pro versus a Pixel 8 Pro. The Pixel 7 Pro has an optical under-display fingerprint scanner that's a Class 3 biometric as well as a face unlock scanner that's a Class 1 biometric. The Pixel 8 series also has an optical under-display fingerprint scanner that's a Class 3 biometric but it also has a Class 3 face unlock.
(Thanks to anon for checking this on their Pixel 8 Pro!)
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In case you're wondering why predictive back animations still show within certain apps even if the "predictive back animations" toggle is disabled under Developer Options, according to Googler Ian Lake, only the System UI-controlled predictive back animations are gated behind the Developer Option.
In-app transitions like the ones shown in this app work whether or not the Developer Option is set.
In-app transitions like the ones shown in this app work whether or not the Developer Option is set.
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APKTool v2.9.0 has been released with Android 14 support, aapt2 as default, tons of fixes for disassembly and a new resource modes flag.
Connor Tumbleson
Apktool v2.9.0 Released
Apktool v2.9.0 has been released with Android 14 support, aapt2 as a default and a new resource modes flag.
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The Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro supports Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) and also exposes it to the bootloader!
However, MTE is disabled by default and needs to be enabled by going to Settings > System > Developer options > Memory Tagging Extension.
(Thanks to my anonymous tipster for checking that the MTE toggle is there in Developer Options on their Pixel 8!)
However, Android 14's new "advanced memory protection" toggle under Settings > Security & privacy > More security & privacy isn't accessible by default on the Pixel 8 series. This page has to be manually surfaced by setting a certain system property.
Google is likely making MTE opt-in on the Pixel 8 series because of the slight performance penalty it brings when enabled. If I remember correctly, there's a CPU overhead of about 5% when this is enabled.
For more info on MTE and Android 14's new "advanced memory protection" feature, check out this article.
However, MTE is disabled by default and needs to be enabled by going to Settings > System > Developer options > Memory Tagging Extension.
(Thanks to my anonymous tipster for checking that the MTE toggle is there in Developer Options on their Pixel 8!)
However, Android 14's new "advanced memory protection" toggle under Settings > Security & privacy > More security & privacy isn't accessible by default on the Pixel 8 series. This page has to be manually surfaced by setting a certain system property.
Google is likely making MTE opt-in on the Pixel 8 series because of the slight performance penalty it brings when enabled. If I remember correctly, there's a CPU overhead of about 5% when this is enabled.
For more info on MTE and Android 14's new "advanced memory protection" feature, check out this article.
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The Pixel 8 is the first phone to capture photos in Ultra HDR, a new format that I think could be the future of mobile photography!
Ultra HDR is something you really need to see to understand, though, so I worked with Dylan Raga to put together a demo that shows it off. The results are STUNNING!
If you're using a Chromium-based browser on a PC running Windows 11/macOS with an HDR display or on a Pixel 7 running Android 14, then you can see these Ultra HDR samples in their full glory by going to the GitHub repo linked in my latest article for Android Police.
On Wednesday, you're going to see a lot of reviews of the Pixel 8 series go up. Unfortunately, since platform support for Ultra HDR is so limited, many of those reviews will be unable to showcase the photos taken from the phone in their full glory.
Most social media sites and CMSes compress images, which will result in the HDR gain map being removed from the Ultra HDR .jpg. Even Windows File Explorer corrupts the metadata when you simply edit the EXIF tags!
Oh, and the photos I took were all from a Pixel 6 Pro using Google Camera 9.1 (pulled from a Pixel 8). This means that yes, certain older Pixels are able to capture in Ultra HDR as well.
Ultra HDR is something you really need to see to understand, though, so I worked with Dylan Raga to put together a demo that shows it off. The results are STUNNING!
If you're using a Chromium-based browser on a PC running Windows 11/macOS with an HDR display or on a Pixel 7 running Android 14, then you can see these Ultra HDR samples in their full glory by going to the GitHub repo linked in my latest article for Android Police.
On Wednesday, you're going to see a lot of reviews of the Pixel 8 series go up. Unfortunately, since platform support for Ultra HDR is so limited, many of those reviews will be unable to showcase the photos taken from the phone in their full glory.
Most social media sites and CMSes compress images, which will result in the HDR gain map being removed from the Ultra HDR .jpg. Even Windows File Explorer corrupts the metadata when you simply edit the EXIF tags!
Oh, and the photos I took were all from a Pixel 6 Pro using Google Camera 9.1 (pulled from a Pixel 8). This means that yes, certain older Pixels are able to capture in Ultra HDR as well.
Android Police
Hands-on with Ultra HDR in Android 14: The future of photography
Ultra HDR on Android 14 is one of those rare photography features that even an untrained eye will notice right away
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Google Camera 9.1 adds a "rich color in photos" toggle that lets you capture images using the Display P3 color format instead of sRGB. This setting is enabled by default on the Pixel 8 series.
Display P3 wide gamut capture is a new capability of Android 14. Devices can capture wide gamut color images in JPEG format without using 10-bit HDR.
(This screenshot was from my Pixel 6 Pro, where the setting was disabled by default.)
Display P3 wide gamut capture is a new capability of Android 14. Devices can capture wide gamut color images in JPEG format without using 10-bit HDR.
(This screenshot was from my Pixel 6 Pro, where the setting was disabled by default.)
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Google Camera 9.1.098 from the Pixel 8 is now available on APKMirror (download the bundle, not the APK). This version adds Ultra HDR and Display P3 capture support.
I don't know if every Pixel will support these two features, but my Pixel 6 Pro does!
This version of Google Camera also adds Pro controls, but this feature is NOT accessible by default without modifying the APK.
I don't know if every Pixel will support these two features, but my Pixel 6 Pro does!
This version of Google Camera also adds Pro controls, but this feature is NOT accessible by default without modifying the APK.
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